Neon

Neon is a chemical element on the periodic table. It is part of the noble gas group and it has an atomic number of 10. It is an odorless and tasteless gas. Neon does not react with other elements, so it is found by itself. There is not much neon in the air, and it is clear, so we do not see it.

It was previously thought that Neon could not bond with any other elements, creating compounds. However, there have been a few compounds that have been made with neon, such as NeAuF and NeBeS.

History

Two British scientists, Sir William Ramsay and Morris Travers, discovered neon, argon, krypton, and xenon. Together they discovered a brand new gas element in 1898. Four years before, Ramsay, a physical chemist, had found argon and was the first person to isolate helium in 1895. The scientists froze argon, using liquid air, and then evaporated this to collect the gas that is produced. Using a high voltage, they collected the first sample of the gas. To their surprise, the gas illuminated the glass tubes and glowed with bright crimson light.

Upon discovery, the two scientists decided to name the new gas Neon, after the Greek word Neos, meaning the new one. While Ramsay and Travers discovered neon gas, they didn’t invent neon lamps. It wasn’t until 1902 when French engineer and inventor Georges Claude showcased the first neon light.

Uses

Neon gas is used in gas discharge lamps. When electricity goes through the neon, it lights up red. Due to this quality, it is used in light up signs. Similar signs use other gases to make other colors, but they are also often called "neon signs". Neon is also a term referring to a type of color that is very bright, such as lime green.

Neon,  ₁₀Ne

General properties
Appearance	colorless gas exhibiting an orange-red glow when placed in an electric field
Standard atomic weight (Ar, standard)	20.1797(6)
Neon in the periodic table
Hydrogen Helium Lithium Beryllium Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon Sodium Magnesium Aluminium Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Nickel Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon Caesium Barium Lanthanum Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury (element) Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon Francium Radium Actinium Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawrencium Rutherfordium Dubnium Seaborgium Bohrium Hassium Meitnerium Darmstadtium Roentgenium Copernicium Nihonium Flerovium Moscovium Livermorium Tennessine Oganesson He ↑ Ne ↓ Ar fluorine ← neon → sodium
Atomic number (Z)	10
Group	group 18 (noble gases)
Period	period 2
Block	p-block
Element category	noble gas
Electron configuration	[He] 2s2 2p6
Electrons per shell	2, 8
Physical properties
Phase at STP	Ne: Gas
Melting point	24.56 K ​(−248.59 °C, ​−415.46 °F)
Boiling point	27.104 K ​(−246.046 °C, ​−410.883 °F)
Density (at STP)	0.9002 g/L
when liquid (at b.p.)	1.207 g/cm3
Triple point	24.556 K, ​43.37 kPa
Critical point	44.4918 K, 2.7686 MPa
Heat of fusion	0.335 kJ/mol
Heat of vaporization	1.71 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity	20.79 J/(mol·K)
Vapor pressure P (Pa) 1 10 100 1 k 10 k 100 k at T (K) 12 13 15 18 21 27
Atomic properties
Oxidation states	0
Ionization energies	1st: 2080.7 kJ/mol 2nd: 3952.3 kJ/mol 3rd: 6122 kJ/mol (more)
Covalent radius	58 pm
Van der Waals radius	154 pm
Spectral lines of neon
Other properties
Natural occurrence	Ne: Primordial
Crystal structure	​face-centered cubic (fcc)
Speed of sound	435 m/s (gas, at 0 °C)
Thermal conductivity	49.1×10−3 W/(m·K)
Magnetic ordering	diamagnetic
Magnetic susceptibility	−6.74·10−6 cm3/mol (298 K)
Bulk modulus	654 GPa
CAS Number	7440-01-9
History
Prediction	William Ramsay (1897)
Discovery and first isolation	William Ramsay & Morris Travers (1898)
Main isotopes of neon
Iso­tope Abun­dance Half-life (t1/2) Decay mode Pro­duct 20Ne 90.48% stable 21Ne 0.27% stable 22Ne 9.25% stable

Neon

Neon Media

• 

  The first evidence for isotopes of a stable element was provided in 1913 by experiments on neon plasma. In the bottom right corner of J. J. Thomson's photographic plate are the separate impact marks for the two isotopes neon-20 and neon-22.

• 

  emission spectrum of neon from about 3×1011 MHz to about 3×108 MHz

• 

  Crystal structure of Ne-water clathrate, based on [1]

• 

  Florist in Hamden, CT.

Related pages

• List of common elements
• Neon lamp